The 25th Annual Hunger Games
by ScaryPotter
Summary: This is the story of Jon, the District 9 male tribute in the first Quarter Quell.
1. 1: Reaping Day

**So, this is my second fanfic. I've been thinking this up for a few weeks now, so no flames, please. R&R, see you at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games**

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1: Reaping Day

I stand in a group of other boys aged 12-18, waiting to see who we picked to die. For of course, no one from District 9 could ever win. I'm Jon, and I'm 17 years old. That means in a normal year, my name would be in the glass ball 17 times. But this is the Quarter Quell, the 25th anniversary of the Capitol's "glorious" defeat of the rebels. So every year, they pull twenty-four children's names out of the glass balls to fight to the death. Usually there are many names, in our District, it's usually filled to the top. But this year there is only one.

Only one victor from District 9 has ever been crowned, a woman named Kapo. Kapo stands on the stage, in a very formal black dress. Then, the doors to the Justice Building open, and a Capitol woman comes out. Wearing ridiculous red shoes that lift her at least four inches off the ground, she looks at us, smiling. Her puffy dress is made out of red, plastic… _bubbles? _Her long, straight hair and puffy lips match. She goes over to the girl's ball and grabs the name. Heading to the microphone, she says "Holly Hallogthor!"

A burly girl, she's on the near-19 side of 18. "Now for the boys. Luke Festig!"

A tiny boy, just barely 12, walks to the stage. This cannot be the one who we kill. Without thinking, I shout "I volunteer!"

"Oh my, we have a volunteer. Well, come up!" I pass Luke, not even looking at him.

"What's your name, dear?"

"Jon. Jon Swigner."

"Well, everyone give a round of applause for this brave young man!"

I looked into the crowd, and saw my 14-year-old brother, Kile. He just looked away. Then I saw my 20-year-old brother Erik, standing with my father and the rest of the adults. My 24-year-old brother, Trent, must be working. I looked at the rest of the faces, and I thought _I must come back at all costs._

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**Hey, so don't forget to review!**


	2. 2: Goodbye

2: Goodbye

Kile was the only one who came to say goodbye. It was too hard for the others, I guess. I hugged him for at least a minute. Then he broke away, and said "Please, you're the only brother who's nice to me. Please come home."

"Of course I'll try. You know that if they have a scythe, I'll have great chances."

"Yeah, and you're nice, so maybe you could make an alliance."

"Maybe. Listen, if I don't come back, you're going to have to grow up. You're a strong guy, much stronger than I was at your age. You'll have to help more. Listen, Kile. Whatever happens, DO NOT sign up for Tesserae. It's not worth it, that's why I didn't. Just… stay strong."

He kissed my forehead, which is the highest respect we give here. Then he left. No one else came, and then we left. I looked at Holly. She was tall, and muscular. She had short blonde hair and evil eyes. Because of the nature of our work, I'm also pretty well built. I'm a little bit taller than her, and more defined. But she's fast, not that I'm slow, but I've seen her run. She'll probably be the fastest in the arena.

We board the train, and I take a last look at District 9. Until Holly corners me. "Listen here, faggot. You'll be the first one I kill, so don't try to ally with me."

She called me this offense for two reasons:

I told her she wasn't my type when she asked me out 3 years ago.

I've never brought a girl home; so many people think I'm homosexual.

I happen to not be sexually attracted to men, though. Actually, I've kissed quite a few girls, and it was quite pleasurable. And while she may think I'm still a virgin, she's wrong on that too. In district 9, we have a huge city with tiny apartments. Some of these are abandoned and come equipped with beds, so I took my girlfriend there once, and I was no longer a virgin. Actually, we're still together. Her name is Jo. Short for Josefine, but everyone just calls her Jo.

She's really pretty, with long blonde hair and kind eyes; she's tall but not as tall as Holly or me; she isn't really muscular, but she's very feminine in stature, and her smile could cure you of Tracker Jacker venom. I know why she didn't say goodbye- I said goodbye yesterday, for I knew I would volunteer, no matter who it was. Because they deserve to live, and my father has three other sons. She cried, and I rocked her to sleep. This is why I must come back.


	3. 3: Escorted

**Hey, so this chapter's shorter, so's the next one. Tomorrow I'll be posting Chapter 5, which is most of the training. That'll be longer.**

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3: Escorted

A little over an hour after the train passed the gates, I personally met our escort. Her name was Trixie Enklet, and she had some opinions that opposed my own. "Oh, aren't you two just so excited?"

We sat in an uncomfortable silence until she asked a new question. "Well, um… How's the train compared to your homes?"

"Bigger." I replied.

This seemed to catch her off guard. But when you grow up in a mansion, you assume everyone else has too. "How do you like the food."

"Oh, it's good." Said Holly.

She was playing sweet. You could tell she hated it by the way her face contorted, but Trixie fell for it. I, for one, loved it. All these new, foreign foods I've never known… _pizza_, which was my personal favorite, along with _cookies_, _steak_, and _fried chicken_.

"It's wonderful. Thank you."

Trixie must hardly ever be thanked, as she started tearing up. "Well, I'll just go clean up. Shall we watch the reapings together, or one at a time?"

"One at a time." I said.

Holly shot me a dirty look that could have killed a kitten.

Later, I stepped into my cabin. It was large, and painted green. A television was attached to the wall. On the far side, there was a bookshelf with many books. Closer, was the biggest bed I've ever seen. It had teal covers, and a purple blanket draped over it. I fell in and went to sleep.

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**What'd you think? Love it? Hate it? Reviews appreciated!**


	4. 4: The Other Reapings

4: The Other Reapings

Trixie walked into my cabin, and turned on the television. There was a news anchor on, a woman with short, wavy teal hair and eyelashes that must have been at least four inches long. "Hello Panem! Well, today was very exciting as we just wrapped up the reapings for the first ever Quarter Quell! Now, we'll be replaying them for you starting with District 1."

The District 1 tributes, careers, stepped onto the stage. The boy, Shine, no older than 14. That's Kile's age… No. I can't become some killer of people like Kile. The girl, Sparkle, however, was just like Holly. I could easily kill her with no remorse. There were only a few other notable tributes.

Archimedes and Arachne, the two careers from 2, Tak, a large boy from 3, Olga and Ferr, the other careers, from 4, and Georgh, a burly boy from 7.

"Well, the competition looks pretty tough this year, so you'll just have to try harder."

"Thanks Trixie, but it's late, I'll just go to bed now."

"Okay. Goodnight."

With that she left, and I fell asleep.

Two hours later, I was woken by the sound of applause. It was the Capitol, we were here. I looked out in to the crowd of those who were thirsty for blood… my blood.

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**Okay, so the boy from 1, Shine, becomes his Rue. R&R, see you later!**


	5. 5: The Tribute Parade

Chapter 5: The Tribute Parade

I was escorted down a long hallway to a room with a simple metal door. On the inside were two women. "Hello. I'm Huon." Said one of them.

"I'm Pirta. We'll be your prep team for the rest of your life!"

I know she meant that they would be my prep if I was victor, but in another way, it almost seemed like she was mocking me. They were confused by my slightly offended look on my face. "Good! No facial hair. This'll hurt much less then."

"_What?!_"

"We don't need to do much, just stick you."

"Excuse me?"

They didn't answer, though, but I soon understood what they meant. They were right, I'd never been able to grow a beard or moustache, but I felt sorry for those tributes that did. If it hurt more than what I felt, then I don't know how they survived. It hurt like hell. It felt like someone had put boiling water in my mouth, but ten times hotter. I actually felt a burning sensation at one point, so it must have been acidic.

"Good. Now, you're male so we don't have to wax you. Just relax and we'll take you to Prespira."

Twenty minutes later, I was lying on a metal table, naked except for thin underwear. The door opened, and I sat up. A short, rotund man entered. "Hello. I'm Perspira. I'll be your stylist."

"Hello."

"You're a little more clothed than I asked… Never mind."

I shuttered at the thought of being nude in front of anyone, except maybe Jo. This man was the shortest man who was really, really fat that I've ever seen. Mind you, I haven't seen many fat people anywhere. We may not be as poor as those people from 12, but we're not rich. "So, what are you going to dress us as this year."

"Well…"

What felt like days but must have been only an hour later, I was in full costume. I had a cape made from wheat, but not much else. I had a sash with different cereal grains on it, very short shorts, and what must have passed as a shirt but barely covered my chest beneath the sash. Holly had wheat braided into her hair, and a strapless dress with cereal grains on it. The dress went to just above her knees. I looked around, and you had your District 2 gladiators, your District 4 fish, your District 12 coal miners, and your District 7 trees. In district 1, I saw they were wearing jewel-studded clothing. The boy had red, green and blue jewels while the girl had purple and red jewels.

With the district 4 tributes, there was a woman. There was something strange about her, something… missing… "Kapo, who's that?"

"Oh, that's Mags. She's very quiet, but she won because she made some fishhook death traps. I think she won the 10th Hunger Games, if I'm not mistaken."

"Tributes, please get on your chariots!" said a voice.

I did as I was told, though I still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. However, then our chariot jolted forward and I just stared. There must have been thousands of people. When I saw them looking, I just started waving. They loved it. I actually got a few flowers. I looked at Holly, but she just gave me a death glare. Obviously no one had given her flowers.

We stopped at a big fountain. Our very young president, only 26, stepped forward. "Good evening. I am President Snow. Tributes, we thank you for your sacrifice, and, truly, may the odds be ever in your favor."

Then he stepped down. Wow, that was less than any other year. But something about his mouth pained him, and I saw, for I looked very closely, that there was just a little drop of blood at the corner of his lips.

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**Yes, there was a little hint that by the time he was only 26, he had already poisoned his allies. R&R, have a nice day!**


	6. 6: Training pt1

Chapter 6: Training pt.1

After a nice night's sleep, Kapo came into my room t wake me up. "Get up. Training starts in an hour."

I got up, put on my training uniform, and went to see what was for breakfast. It was some delight they called _cinnamon rolls_. They were delicious, but I only had one before I was stuffed. Holly, however, had seven. Fatty. "So, are you ready?" asked Kapo.

"No." I answered truthfully.

"Good answer. I wasn't, and I won."

"What should we do first?"

"Well, you have your compulsory excersises: Spear throwing, Knife throwing, Swordplay, and Archery. Besides that, there'll be at least seven other weapons to train with, the painting station, and the survival stations."

"I'm gonna kill those training dummies with a sword!" piped in Holly.

"I'll try the survival stations." I said.

Kapo looked at me strangely. "That's what I was going to say. Remember, I can only choose one of you to try and save. So, impress me."

"We won't disappoint." I said.

"_I_ won't disappoint." Holly contradicted.

Then, Trixie told us it was time to go. When we got to the training center, a dark-skinned man was standing in the center. "Hello, tributes. I am Drethala. I oversee your training. There's really only one rule we need to go over this year: No killing the other tributes. You can do that all you like later. Other than that, go- don't waste my time."

We didn't. All the girls were required to go to Swordplay first. As for me, I went to knot tying. I mastered all the knots, except for one which he called the "Bowline". He said it was simple, but it was really hard to remember. I looked over, and there was Shine. He had mastered it. "Can you teach me how to do that?"

He looked really shocked at first, like no one had ever taken the time to talk to him. Then he nodded. He came over, and demonstrated it slowly, but without words. He looked at me expectantly. "Yeah, I get it now. Thanks."

I had no idea what the hell he just showed me, but it looked simpler than when the trainer did it. He smiled, and then went back to tying a more complicated knot. I looked over at Holly at the Swordplay. She viciously decapitated one of the dummies, and then looked at me. She smiled wickedly, and stabbed a dummy right through the gut, as if saying, "_I'm gonna kill you first_."

When the girls were done, there was a five minute period until the boys had to go to Knife throwing. I heard shouting, and looked over to see Archimedes push over Shine. The rest of the careers snickered, including… Holly. I don't know what she did to convince them that she was good enough to join them, but it must have been good. Without thinking, I went and punched Archimedes in the face. "Pick on someone your own size."

I helped Shine to his feet, and we walked away. "No one has ever stood up for me." He said, and then walked away.

I guess it's because he's from District 1, so he's not supposed to be grateful to anyone who helps him. But I would have liked a nod, or something other than that statement. Until the full scope of what it meant hits me. _No one's ever stood up for me._ Not even a sibling, or a parent. I thought he was a shadow of Kile, and true, in stature, the way he smiles, his shaggy hair, just slightly lower voice, he reminds me of him.

But when you look deeper, he's broken inside. Torn apart by the loneliness, like I was. None of my older brothers have ever stood up for me, maybe that's why I'm so protective of Kile. He needs someone, and I must be that someone. For both Kile and Shine.

Then the five minute rest period is over, and we get in line by district, going backwards. This puts me at fourth, and I'm really nervous. However, when I see how bad the District 12 male is at throwing knives, my confidence is less shaken. The District 11 and 10 males perform slightly less poorly, but far from alright. When I get up there, I grab three knives.

I feel one in my hands, and smile. I throw it, then the second, then the final. I look at where they've landed. Two are in the stomach, which was fatal itself, but the third… it was a perfect head shot. Drethala stares at me curiously. I see Kapo, and she nods approvingly.

Of the other tributes, only Ferr, the boy from 4, and Shine do better than me, which is odd considering the district 2 tributes are usually the best at knives. Archimedes only made one fatal hit, more than most of the others besides Ferr, Shine and I, but not the best. Of course, his painful nose may have distracted him. He just glares at me. Great, now two people want my head.

Shine did the best by far, getting three head shots. I walk over to congratulate him. "Nice job."

He looks startled, but then nods at me. "Thanks."

So that's how you get Careers to be polite… you just have to complement their fighting skills!

After another hour of choice training, it was lunch time. I sat down at a table by myself, but am soon joined by a group of admirers. They give pouting looks when I say, "I have a girlfriend."

After they're gone, Shine comes and sots down. "Hello." I say.

"Hi."

"Um… shouldn't you be with the rest of the Careers?"

"Well, I'm not 18, so they said I wasn't good enough."

"That's terrible! You were the best at the knives!"

"This makes me more of an outcast. District 1 tributes are deadly, but not as deadly as district 2. So when one upstages them, they're marked as dead."

"But District 1 has had victors."

"Not as many as District 2."

"I'm Jon, by the way."

"Shine."

Tak, the boy from 3, walks over. "You should know, I wasn't going to the full of my potential."

"Piss off." I replied.

He stormed away angrily. "We should kill him." Said Shine.

"What?!"

"In the arena. We're an alliance, aren't we?"

"Um… sure!"

"Good. So, we should kill him."

"Only if we have to. But I wouldn't mind killing my District partner. We have a long, unpleasant history."

"Oh?"

"I didn't become her sweetheart, and now she wants me dead."

"Do you have a sweetheart?"

"Yes… her name's Jo."

"Jo. Is that short for something?"

"Josefine."

"Pretty name."

"Yeah, but Jo's sexier, don't you think?"

He started laughing. I guess he's at that age where the word _sex _is always funny. "Yeah, I guess." He replied.

"Do you have a sweetheart?"

"Um… no, not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"Well, there's this person I like…"

"Oh? What's her name?"

"His name is Amethyst."

"Oh. I see."

I have no problem with homosexuals… after all, many people think I am one, but coming from him it was just… weird. "Well, I hope everything goes well."

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**So that's where I'm ending it. The second part coming tomorrow. R&R, please! See ya later!**


	7. 7: Training pt2

Chapter 7: Training pt.2

The rest of the day, Shine was like my shadow. We shot arrows, which I massively failed at, but Shine wasn't half bad. But then I saw a scythe. I just instinctively walked over to it. I went and turned the training dummies to live mode, where they move. I went to the middle, and waited for the countdown to end. When it did, I swung my arm, decapitating one dummy, and cut another from shoulder to waist. I stabbed several, and cut one dummy's head in half. Within thirty seconds I had destroyed forty-two dummies.

Shine clapped his hand on my back and asked, "Can you show me how to do that?"

"It helps to have grown up cutting wheat with one. You can't really learn it in two days, and besides, you already have a talent; you can throw knives better than _anyone_ here."

Archimedes, who'd just been staring with this dumb look on his face, managed to change to a glare after he realized I'd been talking about him. Arachne pushed him out of the way slightly, in order to look at Shine. "Listen, kid. You belong with us, not with some kid who knows how to wield farm tools."

"Before lunch you laughed at me. Now you want me to join you?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Because when we get into the arena, I'm gonna kill you first."

She looked startled. Tributes from District 1 never threaten tributes from 2. She looked like she would kill him right then and there. "All right, Tributes, it's time to reveal the top 5 victor contenders." Announced Drethala.

"In first place: Archimedes!" There was a loud cheer from the Careers. "In second place: Shine!"

There was a gasp. "In third: Arachne!"

"In fourth: Holly, who is tied with… Jon!"

Now that was a shock. A tie? That never happens! And with _Me_?! Wow! I look at Holly and give her a smirk. She looks like she might start crying. I almost feel sad for her.

The next day is a blur. Until the night, when we have our interviews. I'm dressed in a pink suit and tie, and matching pants. Sparkle, the first interviewee, is dressed in a short, blue dress that barely covers her calves. The interviewer steps onto the stage. "Hello, Sparkle! Come on out here!"

"Hi Lucius." She says.

"So, Sparkle, do you feel cheated out of the top five?"

"Oh no, Lucius, I'm glad that boy from 9 is there. He'll provide a challenge."

The way she said it, I knew she would try to kill me as well. Now three people, plus the whole capitol, want to see me get brutally murdered. After her interview, Shine went on. "Hello, Shine."

"Hi Lucius."

"So, you're a pretty good looking young fellow, right folks?" The audience went mad.

"Thank you."

"So, does that mean you have a girl back home?"

"No…"

"Aw, come one!"

"Well… his name is Amethyst."

Lucius's smile faded slightly, but then reappeared after a second. "Well, I wish you the best of luck."

Most of the tributes were shocked. But I was proud of him. Finally, when my turn came, I was ready. "Hello, Jon."

"Hello, Lucius."

"So, we see you're pretty adept with a scythe…"

"Yes, I need to be to cut crops."

"I see. Do you have any other special abilities?"

"Well, I guess the throwing knives… but I've never used those before. And I'm pretty strong."

"We can tell. I've never interviewed a tribute from 9, 10, 11, or 12 with such defined features… Your parents must be important."

I couldn't speak for a second, so I simply nodded. "Ooh, touchy subject? Tell us more."

"Well, My Mother dies when I was 7, but my Father manages three factories."

"I see… do you have any other family?"

"Well, I have three brothers, Trent, the eldest, is 24. Erik is 20. Then there's me, I'm 17, and my little brother Kile is 14."

"What about a girlfriend?"

"Her name's Jo."

"Oh… is she pretty?"

"She's the most beautiful girl you'll ever meet."

"Oh. Well, thank you Jon."

I got up, shook his hand, and left. I met Shine backstage. "How'd I do?"

"You were fine."

"Thanks."

Kapo walked over to talk. "Jon, you were wonderful."

"Thank you. Kapo, this is Shine."

"Pleasured to meet you." He said.

"Charmed, I'm sure. Jon, why are you with a Career?"

"He's not like the others. They don't even like him. We both have a better chance of survival working together."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I am."

Kapo looked at me strangely, until Trixie came over. "Get to bed Jon, you have the tests tomorrow." She smiled at Shine and Kapo, and left.

With that, I went to bed.


	8. 8: The Hunger Games

Chapter 8: The Hunger Games

The air was hot and dry. It somewhat hurt to breathe. All around me was sand. That's it. Well, and the giant cornucopia in the center. Not to mention the tributes around that. The timer was at 10…

9…

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Everyone started running. I was one of the first to get there, and to my relief, there was a scythe. I picked it up, but there was a girl behind me. I swung the scythe around and dug it into her skull. She crumpled to the ground, and I felt a hand on my back. I turned around, but stopped mid swing. It was Shine, and my scythe was about 2 centimeters from gutting him. "Ah! Shine, I almost killed you!"

"Sorry."

"Come on, we've got to get out of here."

We ran away from the cornucopia, but there was nowhere to go except forward. It actually ended up that we fell into a small canyon, which hid us. "So, what'd you get?"

'Some knives and a sword. Oh, and a very large bag of food."

"I got my scythe, and some water bottles. We should be fine for a few days."

That night, the faces of the fallen tributes were shown. The girl from 3, both tributes from 5 and 6, girl from 7, girl from 11, and both tributes from 12. Only nine dead tributes. That meant there were 15 left. 14 to go.


End file.
